Fast Talk: The University of Rochester Markets Medical Research

Marjorie HunterDirector, Office of Technology TransferUniversity of Rochester Medical Center
Rochester, New York

Hunter, 53, markets academic research to companies and entrepreneurs; such collaborations brought the University of Rochester Medical Center nearly $70 million in royalties in fiscal 2008.

"I think of myself as a liaison or broker between academics and the business world. For many years, there was an ivory-tower approach to university research — that it really should be research for research's sake, and that working too closely with industry might sully or compromise the work's integrity. But there is a growing desire among academics and research scientists to see their discoveries and inventions result in improvements to society — something concrete that will really help people — especially in the medical area. When our scientists make technological breakthroughs that become products, they actually share in the revenue that the university accumulates."

Photograph by Billy Delfs

A version of this article appeared in the April 2010 issue of Fast Company magazine.